Dentistry Adventures, Part 1!

So, on Wednesday night, I woke up from my sleep with acute teeth pain. It was so painful I was almost in tears. A sharp stabbing pain like nothing before. And some itchiness at the back of my jaw to top it all off. So I made an unscheduled visit to my dentist the next morning. He suggested I go for a root canal but recommended I go for a second opinion because it was the first time I had ever needed a root canal.

I skipped that yesterday because I was rushing to work. And then this morning I went to him again, and he suggested I get an x-ray, because I now had additional symptoms. I agreed, and then I went to a dentist that was recommended by my ex-manager. Because it was a walk-in, the wait was quite long; think about 1.5 hours. During my time there, a kid screamed in the surgery. ^^; I think he was just too nervous?

So then I got an x-ray and some very interesting information about my teeth. For one, I still have my milk teeth (2 of them!) Also the tooth that required the root canal had sort of “invited” the tooth next to it, so I may need to do two root canals instead of one. However, that was something that could be done one at a time. The price though, was a good RM100 higher than what my original dentist was charging, though the tempting offer was that I’d have to visit him less.

The best part of all? Both dentists take only cash. WTF.

Rest of the day was spent waffling between the two. The reason is simple: cheaper dentist is more familiar with my teeth and is a known factor. However, he’s only around on weekdays, which means if I want to do it on weekends it’s a no-go. More exp doc is available on weekends, including tomorrow, but he’s fully booked till next week. I can take a chance and walk in, but the nurses say it’s better for me to get an appointment done first.

Got home and discussed things with the parental units. Dad suggested I try the dentist that did his extraction nearby, because at this point in time, cost is an issue. I’ll go check them out and see what they say. Thing is, I’ve googled the place, and the reviews I’ve been seeing isn’t exactly… encouraging.

Also proof that my body also likes to joke around, the pain is quite acute outside my room. But when I’m in my room, I don’t really feel that much pain. However, it’s getting quite hard to eat. My left side hates it if any food gets in there, so I’ve been relying on the right side of the jaw to eat. This has the funny side effect of me actually tilting my head to the right so I chew on that side.

No, I don’t know why either.

Urgh this pain is irritating!

Also, as of 2014, here are the rough rates for root canals around the Klang Valley: